Spaceport eyes Volusia refuge site

Published: Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 6:07 p.m.

Frank DiBello would like to rocket Central Florida back to the lead in the worldwide space race, but first the Space Florida president must convince NASA to give up 150 acres of the 140,000 acres it owns in Volusia and Brevard counties for a commercial spaceport.

A spaceport on a strategically located site, most likely in southern Volusia County, would position the area to grab a bigger share of the $280 billion being spent globally each year on the space industry, DiBello said. He oversees the state-run public economic development corporation created to advance the state's interests in the industry.

"Florida has a long and rich heritage in space flight. It was the nation's launch site," he said, and the state "wants very much" to regain its position as a leader.

The location DiBello hopes NASA will give up is on the northern end of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, just south of Oak Hill between U.S. 1 and Kennedy Parkway.

The benefits of a commercial spaceport – in terms of jobs, economic development and international reputation – would be enormous, DiBello and local officials said last week.

The spaceport would benefit from a diverse local talent pool, including thousands who lost their jobs with the end of the space shuttle program, and educational institutions such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. It also could attract other lucrative space-related manufacturers and businesses, DiBello said, such as those involved in the assembly and manufacture of payloads being transported to space.

Around the world, 34 such spaceports are planned or in development in an increasingly competitive industry, DiBello said.

A commercial spaceport is going to be developed somewhere in the U.S., DiBello said. "If we don't get this site, it will go somewhere else," he said. "We would prefer it occur here."

THIRD TRY AT SPACEPORT

DiBello met with a small group of local officials on Wednesday, including Kent Sharples, president of the CEO Business Alliance.

"It's an exciting concept," Sharples said Friday. A strategically located, public/private facility could bring back space industry jobs lost over the past several years, he said.

But first, the proposal has to clear bureaucratic and public relations hurdles, possibly even an act of Congress to get the land released from NASA ownership and Refuge management.

NASA acquired its land in the 1960s for space launches and buffer areas. Land not in active use for Kennedy Space Center is operated as either the refuge or Canaveral National Seashore.

At least twice before, supporters of a commercial spaceport have tried without success to get land from NASA. The efforts were rebuffed by the space agency and by a groundswell of opposition from fishermen, sunbathers and environmental advocates, who fear closures of public use areas and negative environmental impacts.

DiBello hopes this time will be the charm. He thinks he has a more organized, reasonable plan, and the timing is right, with NASA dramatically cutting back its space operations.

He hopes to convince federal officials, local politicians and residents that this time, space exploration and outdoor recreation can be a winning combination.

A statewide study concluded 150 acres on roughly 12,000 acres NASA owns along State Road 3, mostly in Volusia County, would be the "most practical and available" for a commercial space program, said Dale Ketcham, Space Florida's chief of strategic alliances.

They're working on a set of environmental and engineering studies to determine the best location, the one with the best trajectory for launch and fewest environmental challenges. Those studies should be done in 12 to 18 months and the facility could be built in about two years.

The goal is to find a site that "meets the needs of the commercial spaceport and includes the concerns as much as we can of the various stakeholders that would be involved or have an interest in what we are doing," DiBello said.

The launch trajectory from the proposed area would range out over the least used section of the Seashore, several miles of coastline between the public use areas on the north and south ends.

But the effort started a little bumpy.

'PUBLIC OUGHT TO KNOW'

Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll sent a letter to NASA and the federal Department of Transportation in late September on behalf of Space Florida asking the agencies to convey 150 acres of "excess launch property," road right-of-way from U.S. 1 south to the site, and the now-unused shuttle landing facility to the state.

The letter surprised many locals who were unaware of Space Florida's plans, including Volusia County officials.

"They got this thing way out of sequence," said County Manager Jim Dinneen, who had at least a couple of council members alarmed by the proposal. "They need to start at first base first."

The plan should be that if the County Council and local business officials like the proposal, the groups would work together to sell the plan to NASA through the Congressional delegation, Dinneen said.

In October, DiBello began meeting with local officials.

Space Florida operates on a $10 million state budget appropriation to develop and promote space-related business across the state. It already cooperates with the federal government on two launch pads at Kennedy Space Center. It hopes to win the ability to use the former shuttle landing facility for a budding group of spacecraft that would launch horizontally. The spaceport would be used for vertical launches.

Dinneen said he thinks when council members and the public hear a complete explanation of the agency's proposal, "people might love it."

Dinneen also likes Space Florida's plan to ask NASA to release all of the land in the refuge and Seashore north of Haulover Canal, which NASA has stated is no longer needed for space purposes, and set it aside in conservation.

"All of these acres would be in public conservation forever and we'd have guaranteed public access," he said. "You could do this balance between jobs and conservation."

But, Dinneen said, "the public ought to know what's at stake and what they're trying to advance."

DiBello said Space Florida will keep the process open, and try to make it as inclusive and collaborative as possible, he said. "We intend to engage in dialogue with federal agencies as well as local communities, both political and in the conservation arena and really try to work out a solution."

The immediate outcry over the Carroll letter quickly led to a meeting between DiBello, Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida, and Clay Henderson, a New Smyrna Beach resident and land use attorney who was chairman of the Volusia County Council when a similar issue came up in 1989.

Henderson said he and Lee pointed out issues and concerns the proposal would raise.

"I want them to succeed," Henderson said. "The future of the space program needs to be here. We have a lot of people here without jobs, but there ought to be a better way to do it."

Lee said Carroll's letter "seems a little bit like a Hail Mary pass" to try to win SpaceX.

SPACEX EYEING SEVERAL SITES

SpaceX, a company owned by PayPal founder Elon Musk, launched a rocket earlier this year to take cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. SpaceX plans to restore America's human space flight capability, said its vice president of marketing and communications Katherine Nelson.

"SpaceX is considering several areas including Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico for a future private launch facility," Nelson said "But we are in the early stages of that process.

"We currently maintain an active launch pad at Cape Canaveral and our commitment to Florida is strong," Nelson wrote in an email last week.

The company is the most likely candidate to build or use a private launch facility, DiBello said, but several other companies also are expected to be in the market for a commercial spaceport.

Given the bureaucratic tangle involved in getting land released from NASA, Audubon's Lee said Space Florida should try to get NASA to release a parcel inside its current secured area for a "hands off" enclave, "rather than cutting up the wildlife refuge."

However, DiBello and Ketcham said that wouldn't work.

Private companies have made it clear they need to be able to operate clear of federal air space, DiBello said, "for a long litany of reasons."

For example, private launches from NASA or Air Force property are secondary to federal launches and sometimes face lengthy delays, he said. Companies must deal with extensive security clearance requirements, if for example they want to take foreign national clients to federal launch sites.

"It's a little more restrictive and not as easy to respond to commercial or international customers," he said.

"That's why we've lost so much payload business overseas," he said. "If we want to participate in that commercial marketplace of the future, we need to establish a commercial spaceport facility here in Florida."

Without it, the state can't hope to bring back lost business, he said. DiBello has stated his agency hopes to triple the number of aerospace jobs in the region within 10 years.

CONCERNS REMAIN

While potential environmental impacts concern Audubon and others, DiBello said environmental impacts from the 150-acre complex would be small.

Similar concerns were raised in Texas when word broke that SpaceX was acquiring options on land near Brownsville, Texas. Environment Texas launched a petition drive and said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department also expressed concerns to the FAA.

Audubon's Lee said he has concerns about the site's proximity to an area the seashore is restoring to scrub habitat, and fears the launch site would limit the seashore staff's ability to conduct prescribed burning on its property.

The potential temporary closing of Kennedy Parkway, Mosquito Lagoon and the National Seashore for launches also concerns Lee, especially if the spaceport really starts to thrive and has dozens of launches a year.

"If for example there were 15 launches a year, you're talking about a pretty big hit as far as public recreation loss," he said.

Still, both Lee and Henderson said they understand the importance of what Space Florida is proposing and hope a compromise can be reached that suits everyone.

Jim Cameron, with the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber is certainly interested in partnering with Space Florida.

"Anything that could bring jobs here. Our people need jobs," Cameron said. "And anything along those lines I would venture to say are going to be good paying jobs."

Edgewater Mayor Mike Thomas also said a commercial spaceport "would be good for the economy."

A retired state wildlife officer, Thomas said the refuge has "plenty of land."

"If all they're asking for is 150 acres, I don't think it would affect that much," he said. And, the spot where Space Florida hopes to build the Spaceport is mostly closed to the public but has always been a trouble spot for poaching, he said.

<p>Frank DiBello would like to rocket Central Florida back to the lead in the worldwide space race, but first the Space Florida president must convince NASA to give up 150 acres of the 140,000 acres it owns in Volusia and Brevard counties for a commercial spaceport. </p><p>A spaceport on a strategically located site, most likely in southern Volusia County, would position the area to grab a bigger share of the $280 billion being spent globally each year on the space industry, DiBello said. He oversees the state-run public economic development corporation created to advance the state's interests in the industry. </p><p>"Florida has a long and rich heritage in space flight. It was the nation's launch site," he said, and the state "wants very much" to regain its position as a leader. </p><p>The location DiBello hopes NASA will give up is on the northern end of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, just south of Oak Hill between U.S. 1 and Kennedy Parkway. </p><p>The benefits of a commercial spaceport – in terms of jobs, economic development and international reputation – would be enormous, DiBello and local officials said last week. </p><p>The spaceport would benefit from a diverse local talent pool, including thousands who lost their jobs with the end of the space shuttle program, and educational institutions such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. It also could attract other lucrative space-related manufacturers and businesses, DiBello said, such as those involved in the assembly and manufacture of payloads being transported to space. </p><p>Around the world, 34 such spaceports are planned or in development in an increasingly competitive industry, DiBello said. </p><p>A commercial spaceport is going to be developed somewhere in the U.S., DiBello said. "If we don't get this site, it will go somewhere else," he said. "We would prefer it occur here."</p><p></p><p>THIRD TRY AT SPACEPORT </p><p></p><p> </p><p>DiBello met with a small group of local officials on Wednesday, including Kent Sharples, president of the CEO Business Alliance. </p><p>"It's an exciting concept," Sharples said Friday. A strategically located, public/private facility could bring back space industry jobs lost over the past several years, he said. </p><p>But first, the proposal has to clear bureaucratic and public relations hurdles, possibly even an act of Congress to get the land released from NASA ownership and Refuge management. </p><p>NASA acquired its land in the 1960s for space launches and buffer areas. Land not in active use for Kennedy Space Center is operated as either the refuge or Canaveral National Seashore. </p><p>At least twice before, supporters of a commercial spaceport have tried without success to get land from NASA. The efforts were rebuffed by the space agency and by a groundswell of opposition from fishermen, sunbathers and environmental advocates, who fear closures of public use areas and negative environmental impacts. </p><p>DiBello hopes this time will be the charm. He thinks he has a more organized, reasonable plan, and the timing is right, with NASA dramatically cutting back its space operations. </p><p>He hopes to convince federal officials, local politicians and residents that this time, space exploration and outdoor recreation can be a winning combination. </p><p>A statewide study concluded 150 acres on roughly 12,000 acres NASA owns along State Road 3, mostly in Volusia County, would be the "most practical and available" for a commercial space program, said Dale Ketcham, Space Florida's chief of strategic alliances. </p><p>They're working on a set of environmental and engineering studies to determine the best location, the one with the best trajectory for launch and fewest environmental challenges. Those studies should be done in 12 to 18 months and the facility could be built in about two years. </p><p>The goal is to find a site that "meets the needs of the commercial spaceport and includes the concerns as much as we can of the various stakeholders that would be involved or have an interest in what we are doing," DiBello said. </p><p>The launch trajectory from the proposed area would range out over the least used section of the Seashore, several miles of coastline between the public use areas on the north and south ends. </p><p>But the effort started a little bumpy.</p><p></p><p>'PUBLIC OUGHT TO KNOW' </p><p></p><p> </p><p>Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll sent a letter to NASA and the federal Department of Transportation in late September on behalf of Space Florida asking the agencies to convey 150 acres of "excess launch property," road right-of-way from U.S. 1 south to the site, and the now-unused shuttle landing facility to the state. </p><p>The letter surprised many locals who were unaware of Space Florida's plans, including Volusia County officials. </p><p>"They got this thing way out of sequence," said County Manager Jim Dinneen, who had at least a couple of council members alarmed by the proposal. "They need to start at first base first." </p><p>The plan should be that if the County Council and local business officials like the proposal, the groups would work together to sell the plan to NASA through the Congressional delegation, Dinneen said. </p><p>In October, DiBello began meeting with local officials. </p><p>Space Florida operates on a $10 million state budget appropriation to develop and promote space-related business across the state. It already cooperates with the federal government on two launch pads at Kennedy Space Center. It hopes to win the ability to use the former shuttle landing facility for a budding group of spacecraft that would launch horizontally. The spaceport would be used for vertical launches. </p><p>Dinneen said he thinks when council members and the public hear a complete explanation of the agency's proposal, "people might love it." </p><p>Dinneen also likes Space Florida's plan to ask NASA to release all of the land in the refuge and Seashore north of Haulover Canal, which NASA has stated is no longer needed for space purposes, and set it aside in conservation. </p><p>"All of these acres would be in public conservation forever and we'd have guaranteed public access," he said. "You could do this balance between jobs and conservation." </p><p>But, Dinneen said, "the public ought to know what's at stake and what they're trying to advance." </p><p>DiBello said Space Florida will keep the process open, and try to make it as inclusive and collaborative as possible, he said. "We intend to engage in dialogue with federal agencies as well as local communities, both political and in the conservation arena and really try to work out a solution." </p><p>The immediate outcry over the Carroll letter quickly led to a meeting between DiBello, Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida, and Clay Henderson, a New Smyrna Beach resident and land use attorney who was chairman of the Volusia County Council when a similar issue came up in 1989. </p><p>Henderson said he and Lee pointed out issues and concerns the proposal would raise. </p><p>"I want them to succeed," Henderson said. "The future of the space program needs to be here. We have a lot of people here without jobs, but there ought to be a better way to do it." </p><p>Lee said Carroll's letter "seems a little bit like a Hail Mary pass" to try to win SpaceX.</p><p></p><p>SPACEX EYEING SEVERAL SITES </p><p></p><p> </p><p>SpaceX, a company owned by PayPal founder Elon Musk, launched a rocket earlier this year to take cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. SpaceX plans to restore America's human space flight capability, said its vice president of marketing and communications Katherine Nelson. </p><p>"SpaceX is considering several areas including Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico for a future private launch facility," Nelson said "But we are in the early stages of that process. </p><p>"We currently maintain an active launch pad at Cape Canaveral and our commitment to Florida is strong," Nelson wrote in an email last week. </p><p>The company is the most likely candidate to build or use a private launch facility, DiBello said, but several other companies also are expected to be in the market for a commercial spaceport. </p><p>Given the bureaucratic tangle involved in getting land released from NASA, Audubon's Lee said Space Florida should try to get NASA to release a parcel inside its current secured area for a "hands off" enclave, "rather than cutting up the wildlife refuge." </p><p>However, DiBello and Ketcham said that wouldn't work. </p><p>Private companies have made it clear they need to be able to operate clear of federal air space, DiBello said, "for a long litany of reasons." </p><p>For example, private launches from NASA or Air Force property are secondary to federal launches and sometimes face lengthy delays, he said. Companies must deal with extensive security clearance requirements, if for example they want to take foreign national clients to federal launch sites. </p><p>"It's a little more restrictive and not as easy to respond to commercial or international customers," he said. </p><p>"That's why we've lost so much payload business overseas," he said. "If we want to participate in that commercial marketplace of the future, we need to establish a commercial spaceport facility here in Florida." </p><p>Without it, the state can't hope to bring back lost business, he said. DiBello has stated his agency hopes to triple the number of aerospace jobs in the region within 10 years.</p><p></p><p>CONCERNS REMAIN </p><p></p><p> </p><p>While potential environmental impacts concern Audubon and others, DiBello said environmental impacts from the 150-acre complex would be small. </p><p>Private companies operate with cleaner and simpler launch complexes, Ketcham said. </p><p>Similar concerns were raised in Texas when word broke that SpaceX was acquiring options on land near Brownsville, Texas. Environment Texas launched a petition drive and said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department also expressed concerns to the FAA. </p><p>Audubon's Lee said he has concerns about the site's proximity to an area the seashore is restoring to scrub habitat, and fears the launch site would limit the seashore staff's ability to conduct prescribed burning on its property. </p><p>The potential temporary closing of Kennedy Parkway, Mosquito Lagoon and the National Seashore for launches also concerns Lee, especially if the spaceport really starts to thrive and has dozens of launches a year. </p><p>"If for example there were 15 launches a year, you're talking about a pretty big hit as far as public recreation loss," he said. </p><p>Still, both Lee and Henderson said they understand the importance of what Space Florida is proposing and hope a compromise can be reached that suits everyone. </p><p>Jim Cameron, with the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber is certainly interested in partnering with Space Florida. </p><p>"Anything that could bring jobs here. Our people need jobs," Cameron said. "And anything along those lines I would venture to say are going to be good paying jobs." </p><p>Edgewater Mayor Mike Thomas also said a commercial spaceport "would be good for the economy." </p><p>A retired state wildlife officer, Thomas said the refuge has "plenty of land." </p><p>"If all they're asking for is 150 acres, I don't think it would affect that much," he said. And, the spot where Space Florida hopes to build the Spaceport is mostly closed to the public but has always been a trouble spot for poaching, he said.</p>